Hudson-Athens Lighthouse: Restoration Project
Hudson-Athens Lighthouse: Restoration Project
Unless comprehensive and costly restoration and preservation work is undertaken immediately, our historic preservation engineers forecast that within three years, the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (HAL) will tilt towards imminent collapse. Within three years, it will be too dangerous for public access. It will be posted with “DANGER” signs. This is not hyperbole: it’s not a question of if, but when.
The Challenge
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society (HALPS) has initiated a capital campaign to raise the multi-millions needed to undertake the necessary repair and protective measures that will preserve the lighthouse for the next hundred years. We have begun the repairs and the surveys required for the long-term protective measures. We are planning the 100-year fix!
The Good News
HAL was constructed from 1872-1873 and is an engineering marvel. Its foundation consists of around 200 underwater wooden pilings driven 50 feet into the riverbed. The pilings were surrounded by mud packing and large boulders, called rip rap, to hold the mud in place.
As of 2024, HAL has been operational for 150 years! During this time, the lighthouse has been constantly battered by ice floes, shifting tides and currents. And decades of relentless, powerful underwater wakes have been thrown by larger, deeper, faster commercial vessels using the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers-dredged navigation channel running less than 100 yards from HAL to the East. These destructive underwater wakes have scoured away the mud packing and even some of the larger boulders that are necessary to protect the wooden pilings from exposure to oxygen which accelerates their deterioration. Some pilings are already damaged; some do not even connect to HAL anymore. Water intrusion and ever-widening cracks in the building’s exterior have developed from the movement of the exposed foundation pilings. Securing the building is urgent; if we lose the building, the restoration would be pointless.
HALPS is not opposed to the dredging of the commercial navigation channel or the huge vessels that ply it. In fact, seeing them pass is a thrill to lighthouse visitors. But the passing of these vessels is unintentionally destroying HAL making the preservation of the lighthouse critical so that it can continue to educate, charm, and entertain future generations.
The Solution
Preliminary design concept of sheet pile barrier
In March 2022, our structural engineers presented a 159-page assessment of conditions at the lighthouse and recommended remedial measures. In addition to abating water intrusion, primarily by installing new roofs and plugging gaps around windows, the assessment concluded that it was necessary to protect the foundation from the destructive forces described. The solution is to install a sheet pile barrier around the lighthouse, that will take into account rising water levels. The barrier will be stabilized by driving it deep into the riverbed. This is estimated to be a many multi-million dollar project.
Progress to Date
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In 2021, HALPS received $500,000 in funding through the Environmental Protection Fund issued by New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP). This will largely fund the abatement of water intrusion. The work to replace the roofs and stop other sources of water intrusion will begin in the Fall of 2024. Look for scaffolding, a barge and a crane. The lighthouse will remain open to visitors.
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In November 2023, HALPS conducted soil sampling to inform the design of the sheet pile barrier. HALPS discovered there is solid rock ~80’ feet below the river surface. This information is critical to the design and permitting for the sheet pile barrier.
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Given the multi-million cost of the barrier, HALPS volunteers gathered over 6,000 petition signatures urging our six legislators to secure federal funding to complete the restoration and protection of the foundation.
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HALPS secured a second $500,000 in funding through the NYS OPRHP. These funds will be used to prepare design plans for the sheet pile barrier and obtain the necessary permits allowing HALPS to be “shovel ready” when the $7.5 million appropriation is made.
The second NYS OPRHP grant will also allow us to update a boundary survey to verify the latitude and longitude coordinates; remove asbestos and left over coal, previously used as heating fuel; upgrade the archaic electric infrastructure; explore green energy sources; and make masonry repairs.
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HALPS has raised over $400,000 through private funders and foundations for the restoration of the lighthouse and additional funding for smaller projects is always being pursued. Specifically, monies are being sought to prepare a museum concept plan that would redesign the artifact displays, lighting and signage in the lighthouse to enhance their educational value and the visitors experience. We also need funding to replace the original wooden timbers of the 1,211 pound historic fog bell suspended on the west face and to upgrade the plumbing and electrical systems.
This “100-year fix” is a logistically complex and financially ambitious project. Time is of the essence. We cannot postpone the work, which would be a death sentence for HAL and end in a tragic loss of a treasure that is at the heart of the surrounding river community's sense of identity.
-Van Calhoun
Please help us enrich the lives of new and future generations of visitors, by preserving HAL for them!
While we pull out all the stops to get this work done, additional financial support is needed. HALPS owns the lighthouse and is solely responsible for its maintenance. We receive no ongoing governmental or private funding. Please visit us at halps.org to donate and explore volunteer opportunities.